Leslie
Leslie is a character in the Wayside School books and cartoon. She is one of the many students in Mrs. Jewls's class. Appearance Books Leslie is a girl with two long, brown pigtails that reach down to her waist. She has five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot, two arms, and two legs. ("Leslie") Mrs. Jewls describes her as being "very pretty," ("Sammy") but Mrs. Jewls feels this way about every kid in her class. Aside from this, very little description has been given for Leslie, like most of the characters in the ''Wayside School'' books. Cartoon In the cartoon, Leslie's pigtails are colored purple and are much, much shorter, only reaching to about her shoulders. She wears a pink bow on her head, has light skin, freckles, and a small button nose. She has sharp teeth. She wears a pink shirt with a white collar and short sleeves, and a purple, frilly skirt. She wears white socks and pink boots. In contrast to the books, she only has four fingers on her hands, but this is mostly due to the art style of ''Wayside'' typically using four-fingered hands in contrast to five. Personality Books In the books, Leslie is depicted as being a fairly clever student, being able to prevent Paul from pulling her pigtails upon realizing that he'll do it twice every day for satisfaction by screaming a third time unprovoked, sending him home early on the kindergarten bus. In "The Mean Mrs. Jewls," Leslie gets the answers to most of Mrs. Jewls's questions right, and in "Nose," she comes up with the idea to throw a paper airplane down to Louis when Mr. Gorf puts her class in peril. Clever and creative, Leslie works her best to be a problem solver, even if her plans ultimately fail. Leslie can be quick to judge, as seen when she quickly turns sour towards Sammy in "Sammy," or when she judges that the kids Louis talks about in "Louis" must be "real lulus." However, upon getting closer to certain people, she can grow to understand their differences, such as her on-again-off-again friend Paul, who is mentioned as being her friend in "Pigtails." That being said, Leslie will make sure she isn't just being taken advantage of by others, as she refuses to let Paul pull her pigtails in the same chapter until he's in a life-threatening situation. That being said, Leslie is willing to compromise, as she is willing to let Paul keep the split ends. Leslie is shown to be adaptable, as she has a multitude of friends, including Sharie, Jenny, Dana, and occasionally Paul. Cartoon Leslie is a minor character in the cartoon, so little about her personality is seen. In many Season 2 episodes, she is shown with a grumpy expression, though this may be to save on animation, as a large part of Season 2 was animated in Adobe Flash. She is frequently shown interacting with Bebe and Shari, so it is likely she is friends with these characters. Relationships Books Paul back inside. ("Pigtails," 2019)]]In the books, Leslie seems to have an on-again off-again relationship with Paul. Paul has a bad habit of pulling her pigtails, which often causes Leslie to be frustrated with or disgusted by him, such as in "Paul" or "Pigtails." While in "Pigtails," it is stated they are friends, she does get annoyed when he requests to pull her pigtail, but she is willing to compromise and give him the split ends when she gets her hair cut. Leslie seems to be willing to take to whatever measures are necessary when Paul pulls her pigtails, as in "Leslie" it is mentioned that whenever this happens, she uses one of her feet to kick him. In "Valooosh," the two dance together, but it seems the "dancing" in question is often just an excuse to beat up classmates, as the students throw each other to the ground and throw balls at each other. Jenny On a few occasions, Leslie is shown to be friends with Jenny, such as in "Deedee," where the two play hopscotch together, and in "Ron," when Leslie rushes over to Jenny to celebrate her winning a round of hopscotch. In "A Story with a Disappointing Ending," Jenny tries to help Leslie when she can't find her pencil. Cartoon Shari dancing together. ("Rat in Shining Armor")]]In the cartoon, Leslie seems to be good friends with Shari. In "Meet the Pets," the two are seen playing with a red ball on the playground, while in "Rat in Shining Armor," the two dance together during the spring dance. In "Dr. Dana," the two are seen eating lunch together. However, since both these characters are minor, the exact details of this relationship are rarely explored. Bebe Gunn In the cartoon, Leslie seems to be on good terms with Bebe. In "Music Lessons," Bebe compliments Leslie's skill on the bongos, while in "My Partner Gets All the Credit," the two are happy to be paired together in the Wayside Games. However, since both of these characters are minor, this relationship is rarely established. Rondi In Wayside: The Movie and "The Rat Truth," Rondi is seen pulling Leslie's pigtails. However, what their relationship is because of this is unknown. Appearances For a list of every chapter and episode Leslie is seen in, see here. Trivia *While Paul is seen pulling her pigtails in the books, Rondi is seen pulling her pigtails in the cartoon. This most likely makes up for Paul's absence in the cartoon. *Leslie's grumpiness could possibly be to make up for the absence of Kathy in the cartoon. *Leslie was the first student transformed into an apple by Mrs. Gorf in the cartoon. In the books, it was Joe. *According to the answers of "Report Cards," Leslie considers that the proper response to seeing someone you don't like is "sticking out your tongue," the proper way to show you are thinking is "biting your index finger," the proper way to show you're kidding around is to "grab your ears," and the proper way to show that you are surprised is to "open your mouth real wide." According to Mrs. Jewls, none of these are the right answers for the test, but Leslie is insistent that they are all correct. ** In the chapter "A Story with a Disappointing Ending," Leslie is seen sticking her tongue out at Paul after he returns from his trip to Dr. Pickell's office. Gallery See a gallery for Leslie here. Category:Characters Category:Students Category:Children Category:Mrs. Jewls's class Category:Females Category:Introduced in Sideways Stories from Wayside School Category:Alive characters